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Category: Immigration / Refugees / International Aid and Trade

US says UN to determine number of Manus, Nauru refugees to be resettled in America

Thursday, 17 Nov 2016 17:26:07 | Eric Tlozek And Stephanie Anderson

Supplied image of tent accommodation at the federal government's offshore detention centre in Nauru, Friday, Sept. 14, 2012. (AAP Image: Department of Immigration)

The United States Government says the United Nations will decide how many refugees it accepts from Australia's offshore detention centres in Nauru and Manus Island.

Key points:

  • The number of refugees resettled in America will be determined by the United Nations, US says
  • This conflicts with Australian Governments comments that stated the US would decide numbers
  • Both the US and Australian Government refuse to speculate on whether Trump will honour the immigration deal

The statement from the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration comes two days after the head of Australia's Immigration Department said the US would ultimately decide how many refugees were resettled.

In a press guidance note on the agreement, the US bureau stated they had "agreed to consider referrals from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)".

It remains unclear how many of the 1,600 refugees on Manus Island and Nauru the US will take.

"The United States has a longstanding and successful program working with UNHCR to accept referrals of refugees for resettlement and will determine the size of this program in consultation with UNHCR," the bureau said.

"This program does not reflect a change in our overall refugee resettlement projections for Fiscal Year 2017."

On Tuesday, the secretary of Australia's Immigration Department, Michael Pezzullo, said the US would decide on the numbers.

Mr Pezzullo told a Senate committee in Melbourne there was no cap.

"All the persons that fall within the definition can express an interest and then the American Government can decide, once they've reviewed the cases, how many people they will take," he said.

"It's a process-driven arrangement, rather than a numerical arrangement."

Unclear if Trump will honour the deal

He said it would be within their rights for the Trump administration to take a different view in terms of resettling refugees, but added "we have an agreement with the US Government".

Today, the US bureau acknowledged questions about the potential change in the policy when Mr Trump takes office in January next year.

"President Obama set global refugee resettlement targets and regional allocations for 2017 in September," it said.

"We are not in a position to speculate on the plans of President-elect Trump."

What we know about the deal

The US and Australia have agreed to a one-off refugee resettlement deal for people on Manus Island and Nauru. This is what we do and don't know about the agreement.

The UN was also cautious in discussing the Coalition's proposal for a lifetime ban on the asylum seekers coming to Australia.

"We defer to the Government of Australia for information on possible Australian legislation," it said.

"Humanitarian operations worldwide should focus on saving lives, providing timely humanitarian assistance, ensuring the human rights of all migrants are respected, and promoting orderly and humane migration policies."

The bureau said the UNHCR would be referring refugees on the basis of vulnerability, which indicates agreement with Australian Government statements about families on Nauru being prioritised.

"We have a strong commitment to protecting vulnerable refugees around the world, and are proud to be part of a plan to help some of the vulnerable refugees in Nauru who are in need of resettlement," the bureau said.

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